WASHINGTON, D.C. – Mayor Muriel Bowser on Sunday defended the District’s crime record and rejected President Donald Trump’s threats to take federal control of the city’s police department, saying recent data shows a sharp decline in violent crime.
The remarks came after Trump ordered a surge of federal law enforcement presence in D.C. following the attempted carjacking of a former White House staffer. On Saturday night, nearly 450 federal officers from agencies including the FBI, DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, and U.S. Park Police were deployed in the capital, according to a White House official.
Trump Promises Safety Plan
In a social media post Sunday, the president vowed to “make our Capital safer” by removing homeless individuals and jailing offenders, promising to announce a formal plan Monday morning.
Bowser, speaking on MSNBC in her first interview since the threats, said she expects Trump’s plan will involve extending and increasing the number of federal agents in the city. While stressing a willingness to work with the president on shared priorities, she noted the city’s real needs include more federal prosecutors, judges, and infrastructure repairs — not an expanded show of force.
Rejects “War Zone” Comparisons
Bowser pushed back against White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller’s comment likening D.C. to Baghdad.
“Any comparison to a war-torn country is hyperbolic and false,” she said, adding that while crime spiked in 2023, violent crime has dropped 26% compared to last year, marking a two-year decline.
“We’ll keep working with the president’s team,” Bowser said. “If the priority is to show force in an American city, we know he can do that. But it won’t be because there’s a spike in crime.”
National Guard Concerns
Trump has also floated deploying the D.C. National Guard, though the Guard told NPR it had not been activated. Bowser opposed the idea, citing their lack of law enforcement training and questioning the efficiency of such a move.
The National Guard was last deployed in D.C. by Trump during the 2020 George Floyd protests. More recently, he sent troops to Los Angeles amid immigration enforcement demonstrations.
Presidential Control of D.C. Police Unlikely
Trump suggested last week that taking control of the Metropolitan Police Department was “an option on the table.” Bowser dismissed the likelihood, explaining that federal law only permits presidential control under “special conditions of an emergency nature” — conditions she said do not exist in the District.
Juvenile Curfew Ordered
Separately, D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith on Sunday imposed a targeted juvenile curfew in the Navy Yard neighborhood, near Nationals Park, to curb late-night gatherings deemed a threat to public safety. The order bans groups of nine or more juveniles from assembling in the area between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. through Wednesday.
The city also maintains a broader curfew for minors — 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. — running through August 31.
Trump’s Closing Remarks
Despite his criticisms, Trump described Bowser as “a good person who has tried” but claimed crime continues to worsen and the city is “dirtier and less attractive.”
With tensions high between the White House and the mayor’s office, the coming days could determine whether federal intervention escalates — or if Bowser’s calls for a more collaborative, less militarized approach take hold.
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